Radio Happy Hour, the radio show not on the radio, has announced the end of their 2+ year run as the Village's best variety show. After a US tour, appearances on public radio, feature articles in NY Post, Nylon, and many other places, the hit comedy show is ending its run. "Secretly, I was always surprised that anyone ever came to see a murder mystery on a fake radio show, or that anyone ever agreed to be on the show. Apparently, New Yorkers have a real appetite for idiocy," says show host and head writer Sam Osterhout.
The finale won't be without its share of fanfare, titled Radio Happy Hour: The Final Episode, this episode will feature guest appearances from musical guests Twin Sister, Mike Doughty, Matt Pond PA, and Franz Nicolay, as well as comedians Jenny Slate, Jessi Klein, Arden Myrin, Murray Hill, Max Silvestri, Gabe Liedman, Jared Logan, John & Molly Knefel, author Arthur Phillips, and 2009 US Air Guitar Champion William Ocean, plus buttloads of unannounced guests will be making appearances as well. (All of the guests except for Twin Sister and Jenny Slate will be making a return appearance on the show.) With so many guests it's impossible to say exactly what is going to happen during this final murder mystery, but it's possible that the producers have lured all these past guests back with promises that they'll get their revenge on Osterhout and the Radio Happy Hour crew (actors Robin Reed and Matt Skibiak, as well as music director Rich Bologna) for two years of making guests say fart and dick jokes in public. (Past cast members include author Geoff Herbach and musician Stephanie Davila who performs as Stardweller.)
Since it's inception in the spring of 2009 Radio Happy Hour has constantly produced hilarious sold out shows and brought great guests to their home stage at (Le) Poisson Rouge (as well as the Bell House, City Winery, Cedar Cultural Center and other locales) including
Norah Jones, Andrew WK,
Michael Showalter, The Hold Steady and others to take part in ridiculous murder mysteries, perform songs, and participate in off-the-wall interviews. The show produced two mixtapes of live music recorded live at the show, including one just released in June 2011. (Download the Radio Happy Hour Mixtape Volume 2 here.) The show also produced the three-part comedy shorts "The Fall of Keith" which featured the Radio Happy Hour crew as well as NYC comedians John & Molly Knefel, Sean Patton,
Brett Tabisel, and Ali Wong.
There are currently 18 podcasts available from Radio Happy Hour, which are live recordings of many of the shows (two more are forthcoming, one with guests Hank & Cupcakes, Sun Airway and Jared Logan, and then The Final Episode).
Radio Happy Hour had become a great place to find new music and get a special live performance with great moments such as Tunde Adebimpe doing TV on the Radio songs acappella, David Bazan covering Vic Chesnutt, Jolie Holland covering
Michael Hurley, Tapes 'n Tapes debuting "SWM" at Radio Happy Hour in Minneapolis, MN, Air Guitarist
William Ocean jumping on stage and rocking out with The Postelles, Franz Nicolay debuting a new song in the green room before a show, Andrew W.K. battling a piano while playing "Party Hard," The Hold Steady performing acoustic, or the hilarious Radio Happy Hour preproduction series.
The crew won't totally disappear though. Host and creator Sam Osterhout, as well as writer/producer Dustin Luke Nelson are moving forward with a similar show, though not live, called Geocachers, which launches in approximately two weeks. The show features Sam Osterhout as host taking guest stars around New York City to explore the hidden geocaches of New York, as well as showcasing some of the hidden gems of neighborhoods around the five burroughs. (A geocache is a small hidden box found through GPS location. It's a scavenger hunt of sorts with guest stars.) The first episodes will feature appearances from Nick Diamonds (Islands, The Unicorns), Ólöf Arnalds, Paul Dempsey, Thousands, and many others. More info about Geocachers can be found at geocachers.tumblr.com. The show is being shot and produced with Robotic Raptor Studios.
